Electricity consumption remains stable in 2025, revealing France's delay in phasing out fossil fuels.

Electricity production in metropolitan France continued its growth, by 1,5% in 2025, to 547,5 terawatt-hours (TWh), according to the 2025 electricity report of the high-voltage network manager.

"In 2025, electricity consumption in metropolitan France remained stable compared to the previous year, reaching 451 TWh (+0,4% compared to 2024)," RTE indicates.

It remains "very far behind" - by about 6% - compared to the 2014-2019 period, preceding the Covid-19 pandemic and the energy crisis following the war in Ukraine, he specifies.

"Electricity consumption is not increasing," commented Olivier Houvenagel, deputy director of economics in charge of prospective studies at RTE, to AFP. "Above all, we note that the share of electricity in final energy consumption, and therefore the country's electrification rate, has not increased either," he added.

Fossil fuels remain predominant in the French energy mix and accounted for 56% of the country's final energy consumption in 2024, while electricity accounted for only 27%, argues RTE.

The manager notes, however, that the downward trend in electricity consumption "stopped from 2024 onwards".

The electrification of uses, that is to say the transition to electricity of sectors dependent on fossil fuels (gas, oil), "appears to be lagging behind the trajectories needed to achieve France's climate objectives", notes the manager.

These sectors include transportation with electric vehicles, construction with heat pumps, and industry with electric furnaces.

The government, which has made this transition a priority, must present "as early as spring" a plan for the electrification of the economy, according to the Minister of Economy and Finance Roland Lescure.

Abundance of low-carbon electricity

This movement is all the more relevant as electricity production in France has exceeded its 2019 level, mainly thanks to the restoration of the availability of the nuclear fleet and the progress of production from the solar and wind sectors, particularly at sea.

Moreover, electricity is very largely decarbonized in France, with a production volume of 95,2% low carbon (nuclear and renewable), a "historic" level, according to RTE.

Fossil fuel production continued to decline and its level "was the lowest observed in nearly 75 years", according to RTE.

"The abundance of low-carbon electricity production in France puts the country in a very favorable position to decarbonize rapidly and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, which still represent nearly 60% of its total energy consumption," he believes.

France's "carbon content," or carbon footprint, is one of the lowest in Europe, second only to Norway, notes Olivier Houvenagel. "The real challenge now is to be able to decarbonize other uses," he continues.

From this perspective, France has an advantage over "other countries whose electricity mix still relies heavily on fossil fuel production".

Another advantage is that France is a net exporter of electricity in Europe and the competitiveness of its production has enabled it to record a new export record in 2025, the manager points out.

They represented 92,3 TWh in 2025, which is "comparable to the annual electricity consumption of a country like Belgium".

France also benefits from some of the lowest electricity prices in Europe, particularly compared to Germany and Italy, notes RTE.

The average annual spot price of electricity in France is 61 euros per MWh, above the 39,4 euros per MWh of 2019, but significantly below the 275,9 euros per MWh on average in 2022, at the heart of the energy crisis.

Finally, France plays the role of an "electrical hub" in Europe with exports that transit to the whole continent, "beyond just the neighboring countries".

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.